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you're watching nbc 10's coverage of the pope in philadelphia. >> god bless america. >> his first trip to america. pope francis embracing all who come to see him from washington, new york city and today he arrives in philadelphia. in less than three hours. good morning, welcome to nbc news 10. >> the wait is almost over. it's been unbearable. we're now just about 3 1/2 hours away from the pope touching down. actually 2 1/2 hours now from the pope touching down in philadelphia. here is a look at sky force 10 overlooking the vine street expressway. you see the school buses, they have a police escort in front of them. those buses no doubt are headed over towards the basilica that will be filled to capacity in about three hours.

probably less than that because these folks will all be gathered the there, the matter of time that it takes them to get over this bridge and into the parkway. >> now let's show you a live picture above the art museum. the stage is up, security set for the world meeting of families concert on the parkway later this evening. >> and here is a live look at the ben franklin bridge as i don't see any people walking over. of course it's shut down for vehicular traffic today and over the weekend. but people will be parked over on the camden side and they will make their way across the bridge on foot as they come to see the pope today. good morning. in the forecast for today, cloudy and dry. so the good thing is that most of our rainfall is going to stay to the south of our area. we are going to see breezy

conditions as we head into the rest of today. so it will be on the cool side, a little bit below average for us. but there is the rainfall again south of our area and we expect to stay there as we head into the rest of today and into tomorrow. there is a live look at the ben franklin bridge. it is closed today and tomorrow for philadelphia. mostly cloudy skies. a cloudy start. 63, our humidity at 72%. wind speeds out of the northeast at about 10 miles per hour. temperature it is kos in your 7 at 63, things warm up late morning hour, 70 by 11:00 a.m., we push to 75 by 1:00 p.m. and as you're lining up for the address, expect temperatures closer to 75 and temperatures at 7:00 p.m. as you're heading home or maybe still out and about at 70 degrees. one thing to point see breezy conditions. wind gusts will be closer to 30 miles per hour. i'll have more details on what

you can expect tomorrow, as well. we expect to see similar conditions. i'll break it down coming up. now let's break down the closures. you're looking at the art museum, but we can tell you that 76, scheduuylkill excespressway closed. vine street expressway and admiral wilson boulevard from ben franklin bridge and ben franklin brenidge closed to vehicular traffic. it is a pedestrian bridge between cam dozden and old city. if you are in the philadelphia suburbs and you're taking septa, you will need a very important papal purchase that you had to have purchased a while back. >> you'll need to have them, you

should already have them. if you're using them, you just complaint show up expecting to buy one these because they're not for sale any more. this morning nbc 10's deanna durante is live for us at the fort washington state which is one of the septa stations bringing people to center city to see the pope taoday. people have been coming and going throughout the morning. >> reporter: they have. as early as 5:30 this morning. actually 5:29 this morning is when 29 people boarded that first train for center city. take a look. you said that you can't get on the train. you can't get into the septa station here without that papal pass. people are lining up here in the parking lot. you see the volunteers milling around with the yellow vests. the rest of the people are passengers that are lining up here. they are checking their tickets, making sure that they have the papal passes. if you see a little bit to the right of the tent, because we are on the platform across, there is a cardboard cut out of

proefs, ma pope francis, many people taking pictures. another train is coming here in just a minute. we are at train number 5 this morning. just under 200 people, i need to correct myself from last time, boarded the trains already for center city. a woman was almost in tears, she was on excited to head into the city. you will hear from her in just a little bit. she's from the ambler area. and she's attending the papal mass at the cathedral. but first i want to introduce you to the kings. you're waiting to board the train. how long have you been awaiting? >> maybe about ten minutes. they're moving fine. park was great. great support from the police and septa people. it's terrific. from are y from. >> are you excited? >> excited beyond belief. >> we've never seen the pope before. this is the first for us. >> and what made you decide to go down today and what events are you hoping to go to? >> well, today we're going to the family festival and we have tickets tomorrow for the papal mass.

and what made us decide to go is because we love this pope. just love him. and we are pretty devout catholics and it seems like the right thing to do. >> and this is one of the biggest trains for ticketing. >> we live less than five hi minutes away. parking was a breeze and we're just looking forward to a great weekend. >> well, enjoy yourself. if you get close to him, if you're able to say anything, what would you say? >> pray for me. and my family. that's it. >> thank you so much for your time. enjoy your day. again the crowds are getting bigger over here. they will come over here in just a minute. and we're waiting for train number 5 that will take people into the city. that's the very latest reporting live from fort washington, deand that deanna durante, nbc 10. usually when i've talked to people that have had the opportunity to meet the pope,

that's what he says, pray for me. so 9:30 is when the pope's plane is expected to touchdown. >> red carpet of course will be rolled out, but he's not flying into the airport like you and i would. no, he's flying in to atlantic aviation, a separate terminal at the airport that has been there since the 1950s. it's usually used for corporate or charters going in and out of there. all the four major sports teams all use it. this is the same terminal that the president uses when he flies in to philly for visits. and when the pope's plane lands here, he will be greeted by the archbishop, governor wolf and his wife, mayor nutter and his wife expected to be there as well as the members of the world meeting of families board. >> and you talked to the general manager and he's pretty excited. >> yeah, john butterworth says he's execute the his executive privilege and he'll be the guy driving the stairs right up to the 777 when it shows up. >> so that will be in just a few

hours from now. >> and the excitement of course over his visit is building. let's go out to the ben franklin parkway this morning. >> katy zachry is live there for us. what is it like where you are? >> reporter: it's great to see you all. it is a bevy of activity where i am. i'm in a media center which is smack dab in the middle of the ben franklin parkway right in front of aikens oval. in fact behind me over my right shoulder, what a view we have of the main stage. the area in front of the philadelphia museum of art as you can see has been utterly transformed. of course this is where pope francis will hold that highly anticipated mass tomorrow afternoon. and before that it will serve as the main stage for the festival of families which begins today and it continues tomorrow. begins in just a few hours. this will be the area where musicians and performers will take stage. the festival of families is expected to attract hundreds of you thousands of people as we heard from deanna, people are

already at the suburban train stations getting on those regional rail train, coming into philadelphia to enjoy the festivities. as i said, i'm in a separate media area on the ben franklin parkway. but it is a bevy of activity all around me. and i'll have pictures for you coming up in just a little bit of all that is going on outside of us. back to you. well, our coverage of the pope in philadelphia is just getting started. >> all weekend long, we have you covered on air and online to bring you everything you need to know. here is a live look from sky force 10 flying around checking on the crowds. >> wow. >> those are crowds waiting to get through security at the constitution center. chris cato will be there later today. and he was telling me yesterday that the gates open there at 6:00. and they have entertainment all afternoon prior to the pope's speech.

make it for certainly occasions like the 75th an verniversary oe bridge. so today same thing. in fact over the weekend. after the pope touches down, he will head to center city. >> and he will celebrate mass of the cathedral about a silica of saints peter and paul. tim furlong is live there. >> reporter: exciting day here for this catholic school kid. it's finally our attorney to get a glimpse of the pope. it will be an interesting day here to see. thousands of people are already

here. our bus pull up about an hour ago and people were still waking up, they had been sleeping here all night, everybody excited to see the pope. the mass inside is not for everybody, it's about 1600 people. mostly parishioners and clergy from the archdiocese of philadelphia, heads of the church from around the state of pennsylvania will be here in this church. but it will be just an exciting day. the place has been cleaned top to bottom. if you've never been in the basilica, you should do it. not today mind you. but try see how beautiful it is inside. but it is an old church and they have had to do things to update it. they have rewired the entire place, they have a brand new sound system for the pope, a high definition camera system. so basically they're doing a lot of things to make this place shine in anticipation of the pope's visit. and everything they have done to the church will all stay here after the pope leaves. but again a very exciting day here at the cathedral. when we come back, we'll try to show you around a bit. but again at about 10:00 the pope will pull up in front of the cathedral and we'll have it

for you live. tim furlong, nbc 10 news. >> and we just got a picture of the creucifix that the holy father will be presented with. >> and here is a live look overseeing the ben franklin parkway. not a lot of foot traffic, not a lot of car traffic there right now, but that will all change in the next couple of hours.

♪ with the card most accepted in the philadelphia region, you have the compassion and security of blue cross. giving you the power to do more. independence blue cross. live fearless. we all know the pope is coming, but did i mention that there is also security involved

in this operation? we're taking a live look in franklin park way. actually that is the ben franklin bridge it appears. toll booths there where they are allowing people to walk through for the next couple of days. and as we've been telling you, be very aware of the things that you bring and should not bring because they will check it, they will keep it. they will not let you through those barricades or those barriers with selfie stick, bicycle, a number of other things. >> we've been showing you the live pictures along the ben franklin parkway showing the security that you have to go through. and here we have this bag, this is -- you don't want to take a bag that is bigger than this snap sack. because you won't get through. >> yeah, what is difference about it, you can see everything that is in the bag. >> it's clear and small. that will get you through fast.

we have a complete list of the things that you cannot take that you will be turned away at security if you really must take it with you. you'll be turned away on our nbc 10 app. so check that out. so this isn't the first time a pope has visited philadelphia. >> 1979, pope john paul ii was here saying mass in logan circle. and jerry ruggles was there to cover, a young cub reporter back then. >> i was. >> does it seem like it's been 36 years? >> yes, if doe rk, it does. >> i love his honesty. >> there are comparisons and some differences. we have atlantic aviation and that's where john paul ii came in and rather than governor wolf, there was governor thornburg pack then and we had mayor rizzo and his wife and paul john paul gets down and comes up to the entrance and the mayor knelt and kissed his ring. governor thorpburg however just shook his hand.

and they got in the press truck and we were in the press truck going up ahead of them up broad street. and as we went up broad street if i can relate this, we were supposed to go at 5 miles an hour because there were literally hundreds of thousands of people on broad street. but someone saw a window open, the secret service was afraid and they went up broad street at 30 miles per hour. you talk about some unhappy people on broad street who got to see the pope in the blip of an eye. and then he was supposed to get into limo after he came out the door and he just walked over. so all of a sudden people are saying the pope is coming, the pope is coming. security much dirt. >> and we're taking a look at a picture of john paul murray, a baby blessed by the pope. >> i've been watching and a couple things i wanted to bring up of what we've talked about. we were talking about the weather and brittany talking about a cloudy day. this is actually a plus. i had lunch with derrick sawyer, the fire commissioner for the city of philadelphia.

very, very concerned about the people here and the heat because so many people will be elderly people. and they're really worried about the problems that heat creates for elderly people. so the cloud cover is going to be a plus p. >> and they have all that water, too, which is really helpful. >> absolutely. and then they showed the ben franklin bridge. that is a 2 mile span just walking the bridge is a 2 mile span. so people who are coming from the jersey side and going to the campbell's baseball parking lot there by the aquarium still have a 2 mile walk just to getting across the river. so there are some challenges here and fortunately mother nature is working things right for the conditions. >> we saw the medical tents that we showed in the live shot sky force 10 a little bit earlier. so i think they have planned as much as they possibly can to it take care of issue's like that people's health and age. >> well, there has just never been an evendeavor like this before. this is an national secret

select something event. but what it means, the secret service is in charge and as soon as that is declared, the secret service is in chanlg in charge everything. this is the largest secret service has ever done. 100 city square blocks. >> and more than 70 agencies that they're coordinating. >> exactly. it's a big deal. >> so first washington and then new york and now we're talking philly. >> every stop pope francis makes in america is one for the history books. this is the pope's first visit to the u.s. during his lifetime. he is the fourth pope to visit america and the third to meet with a u.s. president during a trip here. now, the others were pope benedict and st. paul, john paul ii, the last pope to visit philadelphia was st. john paul ii back inning on the of 1979. he celebrated mass with an estimated 1 million people at logan circle. and we are how just more than two hours away from the pope's arrival in philadelphia. all weekend long, we'll be bringing you complete coverage

of the papal visit including how to get you around. >> speaking of getting around, here is a live look at 95 vine street expressway. there are a number of closures that you need to know about. we'll cover those coming up. you can also find a list of the road closures on our nbc 10 app, a free down load.

as we continue our coverage of the monpope in philadelphia, a e picture from the ben franklin park and i. people going through security. you should arrive at the

basilica a little after 10:00 this morning. he's still in new york. we're trying to get you a live picture from when he takes off from new york and arrive at the atlantic aviation. >> and today will be a historic day for the city of philadelphia. millions expected to flock to center city to see pope francis who arrives in about two hours. >> all week long people have been pinning their prayers up outside the basilica cathedral of saints peter and paul. rosemary connors is live at the embassy suites on the 18th floor overlooking the ben franklin parkway. >> reporter: tracy and vai, we have a bird's eye view. quite a few people have started to line up along the gates. and also on the grounds of the basilica is a knotted grotto. the sister heads the world meeting of families committee on hunger and homelessness. i spoke to her earlier this week

in washington. she had tickets to be on the lawn of the white house during the official state welcome in washington. she told me that she along with the tens of thousands of people who have tied those ribbons on to the grot tto, they are all hoping the pope will bless the grotto when he's here, the first opportunity for that may happen before 10:30 this morning when the pope is at the basilica to say the private mass. just to give you some pack ground, first of all, the ribbons express people's struggles. so as you mentioned people's prayers, what they hope that pope tran sis will be able to bless when he comes through here. also i should tell you that the g grotto was inspired by the pope himself. he has a deep devote to the blessed mother and other parts of the world known as mary, the undoer of knots. people hoping the pope will pass by them along the fated sidewalks, that he will police

them and of course bless this grotto. rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. the papal plane is scheduled to touchdown in philadelphia in about two hours from now. countdown is on. >> and everybody is getting ready for this momentous day. let's give you a look at center city philadelphia from across the way in camden, new jersey. it looks a little kocloudy, but we're expecting toing be 75 de. a pretty nice day for those coming to see pope francis.

it is 7:30, september 26. here is a live look at the ben franklin parkway from the embassy suites hotel. this is a day that we have been

waiting for forever it seems. and it is here. good morning and welcome to nbc 10 news today. >> and his toric day. thousands heading to center city for the chance of a lifetime, the chance to see the pope. here is a live picture from the fort washington train station, one of the places people have gathered to take mass transit which is the best way to go. you need one of those special papal passes to get on board even to get into that area. people have been waiting to get on trains, last train to leave just left two minutes ago. several trains have left from that station. deanna durante is there and we'll check with her coming up. >> it looks like it will be a pretty nice day for the pope to visit. let's get over to brittany for a look at the forecast. tell us what it will be like. >> we will see a chilly start to the morning, but as we push into the afternoon, temperatures will warm into the mid-70s.

but he mentionyou mentioned the rails. you want to bring a light jacket. you'll probably need it as we head into the afternoon. just because we're going to see our temperatures in the mid-70s, but also wind gusts up to about 25 miles per hour throughout the afternoon and evening. for radner, 56. if you are heading out in norristown, 54 degrees. a closer look at what warminster at 56, woodburn at 58 right now. and so that is our general range in temperatures. mainly in the 50s. a cool start. we expect to see cloudy but dry conditions heading into the rest of today. you'll notice all of the rainfall stays to the south of us which is great news for the many visitors coming to our city today. here is a closer look at your day planner both today and tomorrow. temperatures will warm into the mid-70s. so pie nooby noon, 70. would by 4:00, 75.

sunday, similar conditions expected. we'll start off cool, 61. by noon, 67. and then tomorrow's high at 75 degrees. i'll take a closer look at what else you can expect for the rest of the papal weekend coming up. the wait is almost over. the pope is scheduled to touchdown in philadelphia at 9:30 about two hours from now. and the excitement over his visit is growing. >> it's so exciting especially on the ben franklin parkway. people have already started to go through security. katy zachry is live there. set the scene for us. >> reporter: well, behind me you can see the main stage for the festival of families and of course that stage is where pope francis will conduct mass tomorrow afternoon before that festival of families performers will take the stage later today and tomorrow. and as we've panned off to show you the sea of chairs that has been set up, it's just -- hundreds and hundreds of chairs set up for the ticketed mass tomorrow. there is a lot of activity here.

you have security guard, police being briefed, you have vendors, food personnel, you have media -- much of the media has been up since 1:30 or 2:00 because it takes about three hours for us to get from our area where we were dispatched to this media center. where i'm standing right now just to give you some perspective, i'm on the third section, basically a three story tier, a high rise, if you will. so we are on the third high rise up and we have a really great van damage point of the stage behind us. as you said, people are already lining up, people are along the fenced in barricade. they have a great position for what is to come in just a few hours. the festival of families is open to everyone. they are expecting hundreds of thousands of people to come to the parkway and take part in that festival. there will be music performances, there will be performances, visual performances, food, a lot of other events taking place. so it's a really fun time here and a lot of preparation, some organizations have been

preparing for years for this. other organizations as we've seen in the last few months, it's really the activity has sped up, leading to this weekend. so we're in a great spot to bring you all of the activity once it starts in just a few hours. tracy and vai. >> thank you. and tracy just a few minutes ago received this picture on her phone, it's a crew a fix thccr the pope will be presented with. >> and these are nuns that are here to take the buses probably already in the basilica right now. that group from newman university. >> lucky to have buses to transport them in. looks like they got a police escort, as well. but if you're fortunate to have a septa pass, then you can get on a train pd at trains have been running on time starting

bat 5:29 this morning. >> the most ticketed station is the fort washington station. deanna durante is there. >> reporter: yeah, so far we can tell you that everybody seems to be behaving ourselves. we chucktalked with the chief a said everybody is parking where they are supposed to park. as we have been showing you all morning that's where people are lining up, getting their passes checked. the parking here is limited to people with special needs, volunteer, law enforcement, to give you an idea of the security presence here, you see them wandering around. we not only have police and fire department members and volunteers, but even the u.s. coast guard is here helping out. and every once in a while we'll see them walk this path here behind the train station. now, over here that's the command post, where many of the septa workers, volunteer, police are all congregating. and again these passengers will walk under the train station here and board the train, last

one left just a little while ago, about 300 people so far. we are hearing reports that the trains are starting to run a few minutes on delay. the next train here from fort washington will leave at about 8:30 this morning. trains will run until about 1:00 this afternoon. and we spoke to some very excited people who have tickets to get up close and personal to the pope. >> yes, very excited. >> i can't believe he's coming to philly. everybody's just very emotional about it. to watch him on the news in new york, it's just really exciting. >> you're like teary eyed. very emotional. >> yeah. >> we are. >> why? just because of the type of pope he is or just because it's such an amazing event? >> it's so great for philadelphia and so great for america. i really think he's bringing a lot of discussion to a lot of

the issues. and it's changing the dialogue. so we're happy to be part of it. >> i'm so, so excited. i'm so excited. i've been going downtown every day since tuesday and i'm just so filled with the holy spirit, the poudpower of god is so stro. and i think they said it was like 20,000 since tuesday to friday. and it's just awesome. just so awesome. >> reporter: many people are excited for various reasons. we met a whole family that drove this from michigan. you will hear from help coming up in a little bit. they are very excited to head down into the city of philadelphia. they have spent the night here. we've talked to people not just from across the country, but across the world that have found their way here to montgomery county to take the train into the city. you will hear bits and pieces from them coming up. again, this is the most ticketed spot. many people he heading into the city of philadelphia.

again, you can see how the lines are getting longer. people are arriving here. they expect this next group to be one of the largest groups. and while they're waiting to get their tickets checked, they're also taking sell iffies with a cardboard cutout of the pope. deanna durante, nbc 10 news. >> make sure you have the nbc 10 app especially if you're going to see the pope. it has everything you need to know about the papal visit, where you can see him, also road closure, mass traps it changes. also a list of the things that you can't take with you to the parkway. >> and here is a live look at the ben franklin bridge. it is now a footbridge. people are starting to make their way across that 2 mile hike. and it crowns at the middle of course for young adults and teenagers, it should be an easy walk. for those a little bit older, may have to take their time.

a live picture of people starting to walk across the ben franklin bridge. as we've been telling you, it is closed to vehicular traffic. >> or run. >> yeah, oh, right. see? you don't often get to do that. so a lot of people parking on the camden side, walking into center city philadelphia. maybe they will get there in time to get a spot to see the pope when he arrives at the cathedral. as we've been telling you, the countdown is on. the pope should be on the ground in philadelphia in less than two hours now. >> later this morning he will celebrate mass at the cathedral basilica of saints peter and paul. >> tim furlong is live there. what's it like? >> reporter: it's pretty amazing. there is a lot of energy here right now. a lot of activity, people

getting into the church. but what is really interesting here and you've seen the pictures on facebook, the dome gets let up at night. they project artwork on to the dome. and the knotted grotto. and we'll talk to sister mary about the knotted grotto. you see it down there. sister, who came up with this idea of everybody putting their prayer lists basically on a piece of paper? >> actually, we knew that pope francis's favorite devotion is mary undoer of knots. so we met with people who are homeless and an incredible artist and we thought that we wanted to do something where it would be enter beinginteractive. so we asked meg if she would lead this art project and this is what she came up with with the input of so many different people. and it's been so moving because the one thing we all have in common is our knots and struggles. so there are 100,000 in that

garden which unites us as one human family no matter where we came from, who we are, what we do. it goes from people that are homeless, people in prisons, people who are executives. >> give me one that moves you that you saw in there on wong of the knots. i know people are praying for sick relatives. what have you seen that moved you? >> people praying for broken relationships, for their kids, for people to come back to their faith, for people in prisons, people who are hungry, who need a home. i mean, people -- one was that we find the christ in each other. there are so many beautiful, beautiful, beautiful and moving prayers in that grotto. s it's unbelievable. >> maybe we can show you the crowd, all the little pope em i emojis. >> aren't they the greatest? >> do you think this is a lasting energy that the pope brings to the church?

this is a jolt of energy to the catholic church, this is where catholic school started right here in the city of philadelphia. is this going to last and how do we make it last? >> well, hopefully it will last. and what pope francis says is that we have to be moved and transformed by the plight of those in need. and through prayer, godded's grace, through the gospel and pope francis' preaching, hopefully we'll be open to encountering more people of all different races, faiths, economic situations. and we'll be moved to be one community working towards a peaceful just and inclusive world and society. >> i don't think -- i think a lot of people would say pope francis hasn't gone the full nine in terms of including everybody. same-sex marriage, things like that. but it does seem like he's sort of reaching out to people saying, listen, just come back to the table. let's talk about this again. let's bring it back. there is no reason -- it's not a one and done or three strikes

you're out. if you're contrite, let's talk about it, let's get you back. is that how you interpret this? >> pope francis' main virtue, his principal virtue, is mercy. and what he says is he identifies himself as i am a sinner. so we can all relate to that. and he says god's mercy allows us to get up every single time and that's what mercy is, to get up and start the day anew. and we all share that simple messa message. we all have our blind spots and our needs, even pope francis. so with god's grace, it's really that, godded's grace, that we all have to be open to. and i think why he relates to so many of us is he is one of us. he's human. he's a human person just like we are. >> sister, i want on thank you for coming out and thank you on behalf of i think everybody. you've been the rock stars of this week and really some of the things that you've done here with the grotto and the dome,

really will be the lasting images. so thank you very much for all you've done. will you get to go to the mass? >> i am going to get to go to mass. >> when you get the media surrogate pass, that's rock star status. like you get to hang with the pope. like hanging out with van halen in the '80s. thank you sister very much. have a great day. back to you. >> sister mary is a rock star for sure. i hope that the knots grotto gets blessed. so let's take you to sky force 10 over more people walking across the ben franklin bridge as we've been telling you. last night it closed to vehicular traffic so people could park on the camden sid and walk over, get their spot to get a glimpse of the pope who lands in less than two hours at atlantic aviation.

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. as our coverage continues of the pope in philadelphia, a live look at the ben franklin bridge. a rare time that it is closed to cars and people are starting to walk across the bridge to catch a glimpse of the pope. >> and high above center city is sky force 10 and matt delucia is in sky force 10.

give us an update, an idea of what it looks like town there, matt. >> reporter: well, first off, i think i may have had the privilege of having been through the check point by the basilica and then managed to get out of the secure zone and over into our helicopter. let's give you an idea of what it looks line down there right now. you can see all these folks coming over from the camden side over the bridge in to philadelphia. we haven't seen a whole lot of people, no big crowds coming in to this area. just sporadic as you see right there. pretty much what we've seen over the past 30 minutes or so as we've been up in the air for this portion of our broadcast. but you can see the security checkpoint right there. and we see a lot of folks coming in from all over the world into philadelphia right now and they are coming through several security check points. earlier point, i went through the one that was at broad and chestnut area. and that was pretty much empty i'd say around 6:00, 6:30 this morning, i walked right through.

only took about a minute or two. and then you see all the folks down here right now, a little bit more than what we saw earlier, of course more people coming into the area trying to get through security and get into the zone where they can hopefully get a glimpse of pope francis. you see right off the ben franklin bridge, this is right by arch street and you can see that this is not that close, if you will, to the basilica to the stage up there by the art museum. so these folks still have a walk to go. but that is quite a walk from camden, 1.8 mile walk if you go there one end to the other. and then all these folks will probably have to do it again coming back. so we'll be up in sky force 10, give you another look in a few minutes. matt delucia, nbc 10 news. and our team coverage continues, we're less than two hours from the pope's arrival in philadelphia. >> let's give you another look at fort washington train stop, the crowd there lining up.

they have their papal train passes which they need to get on those trains to come into center city. our coverage continues.

just a few minutes before 8:00 and we are getting really close now to the pope's long a waited visit to philadelphia. take a look at the countdown clock. we're down to about an hour and a half, that's how long we have until pope francis arrives at the airport. >> but he's still in new york city, has yet to board shepherd one. but people this philadelphia are already gathering along the ben franklin parkway. >> and rosemary connors has a bird's eye view of the action there. she joins us live from the 18th floor of the embassy suites. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, now that the sun sun, the crowds are really starts to fill in along the parkway. we want to show you from our vantage point what is happening below. you can see that they're concentrated right in front of the basilica because this may be the best place to get a good view of the pope this morning. his first stop after he lands will be the basilica for a private 345s mass at 10:30. keep in mind the parkway, it's a

long stretch from here to the art museum. so there is plenty of space to fill in throughout the day to get a close enough view of the pope as he makes his way throughout the city between the private mass, st. charles seminary, independence hall and back here along the parkway this evening for the festival of families. reporting live from the 18th floor of the embassy suites, i'm rosemary connor, nbc 10 news. >> let's take you live sky force 10 where you see a crowd of people gathering, independence mall, where the pontiff will deliver a speech on religious liberties, religious freedom and immigration later today. the gates open there around 6:00 a.m. around 12:30, they will start entertainment because they know how many people will be packing into the area. they will also be able to watch everything the pope does including the mass on those huge jumbotrons.

coverage of the pope in philadelphia. this live picture of manhattan's wall street heliport in new york city. pope francis will be boarding the marine one helicopter, then he will board that american airlines plane from jfk to atlantic aviation. quick plane ride. good morning. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm vai sikahema. we're seen him in cuba, d.c., new york city, now our turn. he will arrive at the international airport in philadelphia. we're now about 90 minutes from the pope touching down. >> so it's 9:30 this morning when the pope's plane is expected to touch down as we've been saying at atlantic aviation. >> an hour and a half away the red carpet is going to be rolled out for the pope. he is not